Clinton Tarver salvages what he can of his catering equipment after the Americans for Prosperity tent, for which he was catering, was torn down by protesters.J. SCOTT PARK | MLive Media Group

LANSING, MI - There was plenty of ugliness on the faces of the socialist goons who showed up at the state Capitol Tuesday to demonstrate against a new state law that will prohibit unions from requiring membership as a condition of employment.

Perhaps the most despicable acts of violence, though, occurred when Clint Tarver, an African-American hot dog vendor, had his equipment wrecked by a mob of white thugs who shouted racist epithets at Tarver as they tore down a tent housing his catering equipment.

"They were yelling 'Uncle Tom,' and 'You on the wrong side!'" Tarver said yesterday, recounting the incidents as he described the day's events. "I kept telling them ‘I'm here to sell hot dogs.' That's when they told me I'm on the wrong side. I said 'I'm not on any side.'"

And, yes, Tarver said, they were calling him the "N" word, too.

Tarver, a popular Capitol street cart vendor during warm weather (see video below), said the day had started peacefully enough. He was catering hot dogs, coffee, and other refreshments for the pro-freedom organization, Americans For Prosperity.

"Everything was going real well," Tarver said, but turned ugly as the morning gave way to noon. "Maybe 11:20, 11:30 they started cutting the tent. I had my catering equipment inside the tent. I had chafing dishes, hot dogs, chili, sauerkraut, mustard, ketchup, the works."

Tarver said as thugs began tearing down the tent, other men -- to whom he had served hot dogs -- came inside and began turning over tables and wrecking his equipment. Tarver said two of the men wore masks -- one a devil's mask and the other a ski mask.

"I gave them hot dogs (earlier) because they had tickets," Tarver said, adding that the masked men were friendly and took the hot dogs, but within a few minutes were destroying his equipment.

"These guys five minutes later were turning over the coffee table. He put his mask back on
and next thing I know they was turning over the table," Tarver said.

"The grounds keeper, Matt White, came in and said, 'Come on Clint. They're cutting the tent down, and they're coming in and we have to get out of here.' I crawled out after the tent collapsed.

"I just stood there amazed," Tarver said as he looked at the destruction of his hot dog catering equipment and the mob that circled the chaotic scene -- none of the so-called working men offering to help him pick up the pieces.

When Tarver got out from under the ruined tent he stood among the shambles of his enterprise. The attackers laughed at Tarver, as he tried to salvage what he could of the equipment and inventory. "They said, 'Now eat your hot dogs.'"

"They just kept on going. They weren't men," Tarver said as he described how he divided his attention between picking up the pieces of his business and keeping a wary eye on the throng around him. "They couldn't say it to my face. They just kept on walking and saying things. Stomping on the tent."

There are good people in the world, however: Many of his customers have contributed $10,000 to get him back in business. And the Michigan Freedom Fund has offering a cash reward of an undiscloed amount for information leading tot he arrest and conviction of those responsible for the attack, according to its leader, Greg McNeilly.

No charges had been filed as of Wednesday, but Tarver said he will file a police report with the Lansing Police Department, if for no other reason than to satisfy any policy requirement for insurance on his losses.

An outrage such as the attack on the tent and Tarver's catering equipment, though, deserves a full exercise of all criminal penalties possible against ALL the perpetrators.

For starters, Michigan has an ethnic intimidation statute, which is a felony punishable by up to two years in prison.

John Dewane, an attorney in the criminal division of Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III's office, said charges could be brought pending a successful investigation that leads to the identity of the perpetrators.

That won't be easy to do: Tarver said he doesn't know or recognize any of the thugs who tore down the tent and savaged his equipment. It is, therefore, up to the public to come forward with any photographic or video evidence of the perpetrators.

Secondly, opponents of the new law who organized Tuesday's demonstration ought to be held accountable, too. One news outlet reported that a union boss sent out a missive to members urging them to "cause mayhem" outside the Capitol.

Any investigation should also include any conspiracy or solicitation to engage in illegal activity, especially violence.

Tarver's entrepreneurship is a shining example of American free enterprise, and his restraint in the face of such hostility should be admired by everyone.

On the other side, the violent, socialist, racist goons and their puppeteers should be treated with contempt by society and with terrible, swift justice by the law.

Former politics journalist Matthew G. Davis is a Lansing-based attorney who focuses on civil rights, election law and campaign finance issues. He directed communications for the Department of Corrections under Republican Gov. John Engler, Attorney General Mike Cox and The Sterling Corp.